William II, King of Normandy
William II Born 1333, died 1399, was King of Normandy and Jerusalem from 10 June 1357 until his death in 1399. William spent the majority of his reign at war with the French and Mamluk sultanate. Early life Married Anne of Cleve's in 1351. Early reign During his fathers later years, William was placed in charge of the main Norman army during the Hundred Years War. From 1356 to 1360 William campaigned against the French in Picardy and Artois, leading the Normans to a number of victories. Upon hearing the news of the death of his father, William returned from his campaign in Artois and was crowned King of Normandy and Jerusalem on 10 June 1357 in Valenguard. As part of Treaty of Brétigny with the French in 1360) William agreed to renounce his claim on Picardy and Artois in exchange for an end to French support of the rebels in Brittany. In 1363 the Breton War of Independence resumed when Charles de Blois, assisted by Bertrand du Guesclin, led a new army into Brittany and won some successes, but when Bertrand left to take control of strongholds in Navarre, Charles's advance halted at the unsuccessful siege of Bécherel. King William led a large Norman army to Brittany and crushed a number of smaller French armies. King William and John de Montfort moved to besiege Auray with renowned English warlord John Chandos. Charles of Blois and Bertrand du Guesclin came to the rescue of the besieged city but were decisively defeated at the Battle of Auray on 29 September 1364. This battle marked the end of this long conflict: Charles of Blois was killed and Joan of Penthièvre, finding herself a widow, saw her cause collapse. In 1369 King Charles V of France renounced the Treaty of Brétigny and declared war on Normandy and England. The French fought the Anglo-Norman allies on a number of fronts, In Aquintaine, Brittany and Normandy. This phase of the Hundred Years War proved bad for the Anglo-Normans. When a Treaty was signed in 1389, the French held large parts of English Aquitaine and Gascony, whilst the Normans were forced to concede the County of Boulogne and southern Brittany. Later reign The Hundred Years War had proved costly for William. By 1385 a number of large revolts broke out in Jerusalem, Candia, Cyprus and Alexandria. The situation became so bad for the Norman's, William was borrowed money from Peter IV of Aragon to finance an army to put the revolts down in the Holy Land. He sent his two sons, Richard, Duke of Normandy and Henry, Duke of Brittany along with Martin of Aragon, who command an Argonese-Norman army that fought first in Candia, then in Egypt and finally in Jerusalem. The large Argonese-Norman army had proved a great success winning a number of battles, but it was at the Battle of Tyre in 1391, that a large Mamluk army defeated the Argonese-Norman army and both Richard and Henry died in battle. After the battle, Martin of Aragon left the Holy Land with his troopd leaving the Mamluk's to sack Tyre and Acre. William was forced to finance a second army, which arrived in the Holy Land in 1395 under Charles I was crowned King of Normandy and Jerusalem. Issue *Richard, born 1355, died 1391 *Henry, born 1361, died 1391